The February, 1947 fall of the Sikhote-Alin iron in a remote part of eastern Siberia was, by far, the largest recorded meteorite event in history. While Campo del Cielo (Argentina), Muonionalusta (Sweden), and Gibeon (Namibia) may possibly have deposited more meteorites in terms of sheer tonnage, they all took place in prehistoric times. If those events were even seen by early humans, the witnesses lived thousands of years before the advent of writing and so no records exist.

During my childhood years in London Monty Python's Flying Circus was the most controversial and talked-about show on television. My father wryly encouraged me to stay up until 9:25 pm and watch each new weekly BBC episode. It aired on a school night, which worried my mom and, anyway, she found the racy and provocative content entirely inappropriate for a young lad. My mom was a brilliant woman, and that was one of the few times I remember her being clearly in error. I remain a Python fan to this day and recently, as a most thoughtful gift, received the entire collected episodes in a DVD boxed set.